December 11, 2012 | 1:48 am

December 11, 2012

Posted by Shmuel Rosner

President Shimon Peres

In-depth

'We Have to Open Negotiations Right Away'

President Shimon Peres talks to Hans Hoyng and Juliane von Mittelstaedt of Der Spiegel about the peace process, Iran's nuclear ambitions and the change in the Arab world. 

Not everything that happens in the Middle East is connected to Israel. The bloodshed in Syria is not connected to Israel. Egypt has nothing to do with Israel. And the same goes for Tunisia and Yemen. There are some fanatics who try to introduce the conflict between us and the Palestinians as an excuse for their extremism, but they are a minority. So I think we have to disconnect ourselves from this transitional period in the Middle East.

The Coming Clash Over Iran

Israel and the United States must maintain a strong and well-defined policy on Iran to avoid tensions between themselves, write Graham Allison and Shai Feldman in the National Interest.

Despite the depth and breadth of the U.S.-Israeli alliance, each is a separate national state with its own national interests. Each has a democratically-elected government that is responsible for protecting its nation’s vital interests as it sees them. And neither can be expected to subcontract its survival to the other.

Learning To Love Chrismukkah

Benjamin Resnick argues in the Forward that Jews embracing the traditions of other religions are not abandoning their own faith, but rather finding a place for it in the modern world. 

The fact is that Hanukkah menorahs and Christmas trees, “Maoz Tzur” and “Jingle Bell Rock,” potato pancakes and chow mein have become intertwined in the seasonal consciousness of American Jews. And while a great many contemporary Jewish voices go to great lengths to convince us that Hanukkah is not the “Jewish Christmas,” I would argue, from both a historical perspective and a spiritual one, that such protestations do a disservice to the very traditions they venerate.

Daily Digest

• Times of Israel: Liberman calls for Israeli troops to respond with lethal fire when attacked by PA police
• Haaretz: The UN's best decision in 65 years
• Jerusalem Post: US intel report: Unofficial steps could lead to 'Palestine' by 2030
• Ynet: Report: Israel suspected of leaking docs from Iran probe
• New York Times: Abuse Verdict Topples a Hasidic Wall of Secrecy
• Washington Post: Egypt’s army assumes broader powers ahead of charter referendum
• Wall Street Journal: U.S. Warns Russia over Iranian Bank

Follow Shmuel Rosner on Twitter and Facebook for facts and figures, analysis and opinion on Israel and the U.S., the Jewish World and the Middle East

0 Comments — Leave your comment